Concrete Angel
by deathpuppet13
Summary: Merlin and Arthur meet at children. Fro Child Abuse Awareness Month. Based on the song by Martina McBride. T for abuse


**Concrete Angel**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.**

"Name's Merlin," the black haired boy said to the blonde. The black haired one was five the blonde seven. Merlin was sporting quite a shiner, when the blonde, Arthur, smiled at him and he tried to smile back he winced. Merlin's mum had just moved here with her little boy and they lived next door to Arthur and his sister Morgana. Arthur had noticed that Merlin had just sat and watched Arthur's friend, Leon, Percival, Gwaine, and Lance, play soccer so he decided to come talk to the awkward little boy.

"What happened to your eye?" Arthur asked, "I get the same thing on my knee when I fall. Is that what happened? Did you fall and hit your eye?"

"No, my mum's boyfriend hit me 'cause I dropped a plate and it broke."

"That's not nice, Mr. Gaius says that I'm not supposed to hit when I'm mad. You should tell your mum's boyfriend that," Arthur said and went to join the other boys at soccer. And that's exactly what Merlin did a few weeks later when he got home and because he was late his mother's boyfriend shook him violently.

"Mr. Gaius told Arthur that we aren't supposed to hit when we're mad!" He screeched in his tinny voice.

"Shut up I'm a grown man, that moron Mr. Gaius can kiss my arse!" he yelled slurred because he was completely smashed. "Now get out my sight!"

Merlin scurried up the stairs and locked the door to his room behind him. He opened the window and threw a rock across the small distance to what Arthur had said was his window.

"Hi Merlin!" Arthur said loudly.

"Shhhh! Mum's boyfriend has been drinking again and if he thinks that I'm happy he'll come up and hit me again. I told him what you told me and he said that Mr. Gaius could kiss his arse."

"Merlin arse is a swear word!" Arthur gasped, "Daddy told me not to use that word or that he'd put soap in my mouth." Arthur shuddered at the thought of tasting soap. He stuck his tongue out through the hole that his lost front tooth created.

Merlin giggled and that's when a pounding at the door started. "You little brat! Open this door NOW!" Merlin backed away from the window and the door broke off its hinges. That man came and started screaming all sorts of words that Arthur's daddy would have washed out his mouth with soap at Merlin. Merlin glanced at Arthur with tears in his eyes. Arthur ran away to get his dad. He jumped down the last six or seven steps.

"Arthur what have I told you about jumping down the stairs?"

"I'm sorry daddy but it's important, Merlin's mummy's boyfriend is shaking and hitting him! You have to help Daddy!" Arthur pleaded. Morgana peeked around their father's trouser leg.

"Daddy, he's right, I just saw it out the window, Merlin's getting beat up on. Please help!" With both his children pleading to help the neighbor boy he looked out the window and saw the shadow of a little boy being violently beaten by a man. He picked up the phone and called 911.

"911 what's your emergency?"

"There's a small child being beaten by his mother's boyfriend, please send the police and an ambulance, quickly." Uther put down the phone and strode over to the house. Being the head of police he wasn't going to stand by and watch this. He knocked down the door, it had been locked, and ran up the stairs to the boy, Merlin's, bedroom to find him curled in a little ball on the floor, hands over his face and head, and the boyfriend nowhere in sight.

"Merlin?" Uther asked gently. All he got in response was muffled sobs and sniffs. Uther heard someone running up the steps so he stepped in front of the crumpled little black haired boy.

"Merlin!" Arthur screamed shortly after followed Morgana who gasped. Both his children's eyes filled with tears looking at the fragile form of their new friend. "Will he be okay Daddy?" Arthur asked stepping toward his father and Merlin.

"I hope so Arthur," Uther said lightly touching Merlin's shoulder which started him screaming.

"Don't hurt me! Please don't hurt me, or mummy!" Merlin pleaded. He looked up and saw Arthur. "Arthur, Morgana?" he said confused that his friends were here. He felt the blood smeared on his face and trickling from his nose and lip.

Arthur sat down next to the boy who had become his best mate in the few short weeks that they had known each other. "I won't let anyone hurt you ever again Merlin. I promise to protect you," the seven year old pledged hugging his friend.

"Thank you," Merlin whispered wincing at Arthur's touch. Uther felt his heart warm at the sight of his son protecting, in his own way, his friend. They heard the sirens and Merlin pulled away and hid under the desk.

"It's alright Merlin." Morgana said crouching in front of Merlin. "Those are the good guys, they've come here to help you."

"Okay," Merlin said sniffing.

"Mr. Pendragon?" the paramedics asked confused.

"I couldn't just sit and watch, I am head of the police department for a reason," Uther said.

Merlin tried to make himself smaller as the male paramedic tried to coax him out of his hiding spot.

"Come on Merlin," Arthur said pushing past the paramedic man and extending his hand to his friend. "I'll stay with you the whole time, they're going to make you better. They're doctors. If they even try to hurt you I'll beat 'em up." Merlin took hold of his friends hand and the doctors looked at Merlin and every time he'd get scared Arthur would give his hand a reassuring squeeze.

They started loading Merlin into the ambulance when his mother came home. "What's going on here?" she demanded. Uther took her aside to explain while Merlin watched still clinging to Arthur's hand. His mother got in the ambulance and cried her apologies as she stroked his raven hair.

Weeks later Arthur waited, as he had every day since the 'incident' outside the school for Merlin but this day was different, Merlin came! Merlin walked up holding his mother's hand, limping, and his bruises and cut prominent on his pale cheeks. "Merlin!" Arthur cried running to meet his friend. "I thought you weren't coming back!" Arthur said as the two boys cried on each other's shoulders.

"I didn't think I was coming back either!" Merlin said wiping away the tears. He joined hands with Arthur, gave his mother a last glance, and ran off to go to school.

_A/N: hoped you liked it although it almost made me burst into tears writing it. April is Child Abuse Awareness Month and this was what I decided to write to get the word out. The saying is, this year__**,**__**it only takes one minute to change the life of a child. **_**Wear Royal/Navy blue as many days as you can and don't forget those children!**


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